Until the Sun Rises
by Alaqua Slaughter
Summary: Stuck in Destiny Mountains,Seifer Almasy has to rely on survival skills and a snappish teenager to live. With world domination plans brewing and angsty teens around every corner, getting out alive would be hard. Thank God for flashlights and hand grenades
1. The First

**First Published: 05/12/08  
Edited: 10/20/08**

The First

* * *

Seifer grimaced as they hit yet another bump in the road. Really, he was starting to think that maybe they were doing this on purpose. They'd had to have driven over fifty in the past twenty minutes, at the very least.

_Damn good for nothing second rate asshole_, he thought angrily, holding on to the bottom of his seat with his left hand. With his right, he brushed a few stray strands of blond out of his eyes, annoyed. He grunted as the car jerked once again, messing with his adjustment of the beanie over his head.

"-not very efficient," the front passenger was saying, flicking her wrist in an irritated manner, "I mean, it's so big and bulky and I can't think of _anyone_ who'd want to use it. _Especially_ in combat."

The driver sighed. "But it's useful for ambushes."

"If the enemy is, like, a _bazilion_ yards away," the passenger shot back. She reached up and adjusted her headband before continuing. "I'm just saying bazookas and rocket launchers shouldn't even be included on the inventory list if no one ever _uses_ them." She shot a glance back at Seifer, who was scowling out the window, having given up on his beanie. "What do you think?"

He flicked his icy blue eyes towards her, not very interested in the topic. He opened his mouth anyway, for lack of anything else to do besides stare out at the _riveting_ landscape. It was all pine trees and hills. Captivating.

"They have their uses if there's a crowd coming towards you with hostile intentions," he said, voice flat, "but it only works if they're moving slow or you have good aim."

The girl frowned. "But if there's a group and there are civies nearby or mixed?"

Seifer shrugged. "Then you're screwed and better make a run for it."

She grinned, nodding with approval. "See Zexion? There are still people out there with a conscience."

Zexion sighed again. "The mission comes first. If civies get in the way, their death is their own fault."

Seifer raised an eyebrow, having been a freelance agent long enough to recognize the tone. Zexion must have seen a lot for him to be so... unconcerned. Which was kind of odd, he didn't look like he'd even gotten out of his teens yet. But he wasn't one to judge, Seifer himself still looked eighteen, when he was actually twenty-one. Not that it made much of a difference with clients.

The girl rolled her eyes. "You're just upset that Ansem made you drive him here. I bet you're itching to get back to the labs." In what Seifer was sure was retaliation, Zexion hit another pothole, causing the girl to yelp.

"Be that as it may, grenade propellers have their uses," he said, as if the girl wasn't rubbing her head in pain and Seifer wasn't glaring holes into the back of his head.

The rest of the drive was in silence, with the girl humming a tune Seifer didn't recognize and Zexion staring grimly out of the windshield. Seifer himself didn't have much else to do, so he spent the time playing Pac Man on his cell phone.

"We're here," Zexion announced as they pulled up to the end of a long driveway.

The driveway was dirt, scattered with rocks and tufts of grass. Pines surrounded it, creating an arch-like effect. The tree line went followed the road they had been on, and now Seifer saw that while he had been busy being eaten by ghosts, they had left the major highway and had ended up on some back road. Nothing was around, so he looked up, spotting the top of the house over all of the trees in the way.

"This is it?" he asked, his hand going to the door handle.

Zexion nodded. "There's a small two-story at the end of this driveway. Rumor has it the kid's being kept there."

Seifer nodded, opening the door and stepping out. Outside of the car he saw how the afternoon light created a creepy effect, like a horror movie, almost. He shut the door and noticed how the small disturbance caused dust to rise. He sighed. These were new boots, too. He'd have to shine them when he got back to Twilight Town.

"We'd go with you, but the deal you made with Ansem was only for supplies and transportation," Zexion said, "you're on your own from here."

Seifer nodded, understanding. When the family had somehow found Seifer, they'd hired him almost immediately and had shipped him off to Destiny Islands to find their son. After a short meeting, they'd explained that he'd been missing for about a week. Apparently, he'd never come home from some friend's house, who Seifer had been interested to learn had moved away. The suspicion had been dropped, however, when he'd learned that the family had only gone to a relative's death bed.

The missing kid's name was Hayner, the son of a rather renowned scientist/ex-drill sergeant and a university professor. From what Seifer had gathered, Hayner had a history of delinquency, mostly small fist fights and a couple cases of theft. He'd also found out that he'd run away several times before, though his mother had quickly assured Seifer he'd never plan his own kidnaping just to get away.

About two days previous they'd gotten their first real lead. Apparently, someone who'd been attending a small conference in Destiny Islands had spotted suspicious activity by a convenience store. A blond teenager had been fighting with two men, kicking and hitting wildly. They'd quickly subdued the teen with a quick hit to his solar plexus and had tossed him back in to the car they were using. The man had called the police and followed the car until it had disappeared into the back roads.

Seifer had called Ansem for supplies and information on any places the kid might have been taken. Several key weapons and body gear later, Ansem had called back and informed him of a house that was out in the middle of nowhere, the only place the car could have gone. Seifer had quickly packed whatever he felt he would need and set out to find the damn kid.

He'd been on retrieval missions before, Seifer mused as he made his way towards the house, hearing Zexion drive away, but never for an actual _person_. Assassination, sure, treasure hunting, fine, guard duty, all of that he had no problem with, but an actual _rescue_ mission baffled him. It also made him slightly nervous. He was used to being on his own, the only problem being whether or not his target managed to live, the assurance that whatever he was handling was in good condition, his charge living to the day he was let go - he was a one-man operation. Rescue missions demanded a little cooperation and that was something he lacked.

Oh, he could get along, if he had to, but having a bratty little seventeen year old depending on him to keep him alive until they got back to Twilight Town was almost frightening.

Seifer stopped at the edge of the tree line, feeling his mouth turn down into a frown. The house looked abandoned. It had a rusted fence that was about waist high, the gate hanging off of its hinges. The paint was cracked and peeling in places, a few of the windows cracked or busted out completely. And it was dark.

Sighing, he adjusted his beanie and slowly made his way towards the house. He'd learned that the best way to get a mission done was to simply charge in and get what he was after, blasting whatever got in the way. It was a little gung-ho and impractical, but it worked for Seifer.

The nine millimeter that he kept in the holster at his belt was in hand as he pushed open the door. The inside was just as dilapidated at the outside, the wallpaper faded and peeling, no furniture. Frowning again, Seifer stepped inside, glancing around at the empty living room. It was painfully obvious; no one was home.

Gritting his teeth with annoyance, he stomped to where the kitchen was, to the left, only finding moldy dishes and flies hovering around something he'd rather not know the name of. A glance to the side revealed a staircase.

Not hesitating, he took it two at a time, stopping at the top of the landing. There were only three doors, one of them ajar. He opened the first on his left, finding an empty closet. He quickly went on to check the other two, a bedroom and a bathroom. Neither of them held anything besides a dresser and bed, toilet and tub.

_Damn it!_ He cursed loudly and kicked the bed. A _thump_ echoed around the room.

Curious, Seifer holstered his weapon and got on his knees, pushing aside the ratty blanket and looking at was underneath. A small box that had been lodged somewhere in the springs had fallen on its side, the only thing that didn't look trashed.

He reached out and grabbed it, setting it in his lap when he was straight again. It was nothing special, made of wood and decorated with a small, square flower.

Not worried about being discovered, Seifer opened the lid, blinking in slight surprise at what he found. It was a ring. Small and silver, with a matching necklace. He peered at them closely, picking up the necklace and studying the crescent moon. Something clicked in his mind and he fumbled in his pockets.

Hayner was wearing the same necklace in the picture he'd been given.

Feeling lucky at this sign (Hayner _had _to have been there at _some_ point), Seifer pocketed the ring and put on the necklace, not wanting the chain to get tangled while he traveled. As he was about to put the box back, he noticed a small piece of paper sticking out of the velvet that the jewelry had been resting on.

He plucked it out, unfolding it. His mouth dropped open a little when he read it. It was a memo of some sort.

_Subject: Transfer_

_To: Board Members; Tens_

_From: Dr. X_

_Subject is prone to rage and random outbursts. He is a danger to my employees and will be moved to a more secure location. The facility two miles west of here will be his designated home. Subject will not be harmed while on the journey and will be sedated. Transfer date is 05/15._

_Testing will resume two days after transfer._

It was signed by the doctor in spidery writing.

Seifer eyed the memo dubiously. He didn't trust it, at all, but else did he have to go on? Absolutely nothing. Wasn't like he was getting anything done by sticking around anyway.

He got to his feet, stuffing the memo into his pocket. Well, two miles wasn't all that bad and a 'facility' couldn't be hard to miss. He just had to get going and hope that 'testing' hadn't resumed yet. It was only the sixteenth, after all. Seifer groaned mentally when he realized he'd missed his chance by a freakin' day.

As he was exiting the bedroom he froze, his hand still on the handle. After a moment of listening carefully, he cursed and ducked back into the bedroom, shutting the door. He crawled along the floor to the window that overlooked the front yard, his heart pounding. A quick peek had him cursing again.

Someone had pulled up the driveway.

* * *

_I changed this so that it would have more of a Kingdom Hearts feel. Setting it in our world wouldn't have worked very neatly, because the "it's fanfiction" excuse doesn't cut it for me. Putting the characters into environments they knew just felt more comfortable. So that's what I did. You'll find that that's the only thing I really changed. Grammar and spelling was overlooked, so if you catch something, let me know._

_-Slaughter_


	2. What A Wonderful World

**08/28/08**

What A Wonderful World

* * *

Having been on similar missions before, Seifer knew that hiding would only last so long. Especially if one was hiding right behind the door.

He sighed with irritation, his gun cocked and his finger ready to pull the trigger if the door so much as got pushed by a draft. Which he actually figured was likely, since he'd noticed a few open windows while checking out the house the first time.

"I hate kids," was the first thing Seifer heard from whoever was downstairs. He frowned. The owner of the voice couldn't have been much older than he was.

"He's not a kid, he's almost eighteen," a second voice responded, sounding tired.

"Like I said, I hate kids."

"You're what? Twenty?" the second voice sounded irritated with the first, who laughed without any humor.

"I happen to be twenty-_three_," he responded. Seifer was sure he was also holding up three fingers to emphasize that.

"Wow, a whole five years. That makes you ancient, compared to eighteen."

"Shut up."

After a few moments of silence in which the two below shuffled around, Seifer slowly lowered himself to his knees, ready to spring up if he had to. From the sounds of things, neither of the two were planning on leaving anytime soon. He'd either have to sit tight and wait, while who-knows-what happened to Hayner, or he could jump out the window and make a run for it.

He sighed and chose to stay put, hoping that neither of the two would come upstairs.

Of course, he wasn't that lucky.

"I think it's going to storm later," the second voice said, his voice closer than before, "and I left my umbrella upstairs. I'm gonna get it, then we can head back to the labs."

"Whatever you say, Demyx."

Seifer froze as heavy footsteps ran up the stairs, then paled at the click of heels in the hallway. He tensed as they got closer, stepping away from the door slightly in case that guy, Demyx, banged it open. He raised his gun, ready to fire when the man made his appearance.

As it were, apparently Demyx had left his umbrella in the bathroom, because Seifer found himself listening to mumbles about "Axel being so damn predictable" and before he could gather enough confusion as to why someone would want to leave their umbrella in the restroom, Demyx's footsteps were already heading back down the stairs and he was shouting at the other guy to get going.

A moment later, car doors slammed shut and Seifer listened to the sound of tires pulling out of the driveway.

He blinked, then scowled at the window, flipping the safety on his gun, and shoved it back into the holster on his belt.

"Damn it," he grumbled, rising from his kneeled position on the floor. Although he thought himself used to such dangerous situations, it never failed to set his nerves on edge and send his heart into overdrive. He could only be thankful that he no longer broke into cold sweats nor froze when danger was near.

He pulled open the door forcefully, ignoring the way it squeaked in protest. Judging from what he'd heard, those two were the ones who'd been watching Hayner, whether while he was still in the house or when he'd been transferred, Seifer didn't know, nor could he deduce. He _did_ know that they were still guarding him, otherwise that guy (whom he was going to assume was Axel) wouldn't have mentioned Hayner. Or he could have been talking about little cousin Lizzy, who they'd just come back from visiting. Damn it.

With an irritated scowl, Seifer stomped down the stairs. It was careless, but he figured no one was within hearing range anyway.

He made his way toward the front door and threw it open, stalking away from the house and into the sunset. He didn't dare think about how it looked.

_Two miles_, it would only take about a half-hour, if he kept his pace relatively steady. He sighed and took out his compass. He glanced up at the clouds that were gathering. It had barely begun, but he was fairly sure that he wasn't going to be taking another rescue mission for a _long_ time.

_CRACK_.

Seifer's head snapped up and he slowed down, frowning. He narrowed his eyes at the surrounding trees, tensing. When there wasn't another crack, he sped up again, feeling oddly nervous. He realized why a second later.

There wasn't any noise.

"Crap," he muttered under his breath. It was dead silent in the forest, except for the occasional rustle and his own footsteps.

_It's almost night, there won't be any birds chirping, idiot,_ he thought, trying to reason out the eerie silence. _'Course, that doesn't explain why there aren't any crickets chirping, or owls, or __**something**_.

_CRACK._

Ignoring his better instincts, Seifer growled and spun around, taking his gun out once again. He quickly turned the safety off and held it up, ready to fire at anything that moved.

"I know you're there," he said, voice raised. He wasn't going to shout, it would have been almost pointless.

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he got the odd feeling that he was being watched. Annoyed, and a little frightened, Seifer tried again to call out whoever was following him.

"Get out here," he growled, his eyes darting around to catch any sign of movement.

When no one appeared, Seifer let out a breath and took off his beanie, running a hand through his hair. A bit relieved, he turned around and set off again. It was already going to be a long walk without his freaking out over every little thing.

_SNAP_.

"Damn it, just show your-" as he spun on his heel, he abruptly cut himself off, staring at the _thing_ that had been behind him.

It was bigger than any dog he'd ever seen, than any wolf he'd heard of. It was black, with dilated eyes and a snarling face, drool dripping from it's sharp teeth. Seifer figured it could have been rottweiler in a past life, if it didn't come up to his chest and wasn't covered in sores. Even as he watched, the dog-thing took a step forward, despite the impossibility of it's own existence. With so many sores, the thing should have been dead- for weeks, at that.

The thing let out a growl and crazed bark, snapping Seifer out of his trance. He quickly aimed and fired at it, letting loose three bullets.

One went wide, hitting the dirt three feet away. Another hit the thing's shoulder, embedding itself into the muscle. The last one ripped off a part of the dog-thing's face.

It still let out a viscous snarl and lunged, jaws opening wide, ready to snap down on Seifer's arm.

Without thinking, he side-stepped it and let go two more rounds, then turned and ran as fast as he could, not knowing nor particularly caring whether they'd hit or not. As he tore off in the general direction of the facility, howls and barks filled the air, coming from all around him.

_There's __**more **__of these? _He thought frantically. There was no way in hell he had enough ammo to kill what sounded like thirty of the mutant dogs. Especially if they could get their faces ripped off and still come after him.

_This is __**not**__ what I signed on for_, he thought angrily, his legs pumping furiously as the snarls behind him increased in volume. _Oh, shit, I'm gonna die_.

"In here!"

Seifer didn't care if it was an enemy or not. When he heard the voice cry out, he automatically veered towards it, spotting what looked like a small, metal outhouse, a blond guy waving at him erratically.

He did an awkward, lunging jump and ended up in a heap on the floor of the surprisingly spacious outhouse. He got to his feet quickly and by the time he managed to look and see that the dog-things had been on his heels, the blond guy slammed the door shut. A loud _bang_ echoed through the room and Seifer heard one of the things whine as it crashed into the door.

"Help!" the blond shouted, trying to lock it. Seifer immediately reached out and pulled on the iron bar that served as the lock until it fell into place.

He and the blond both let go warily, both relieved when the door held against the dogs' attempts to get in. Satisfied that it would keep them safe for the moment, Seifer turned to the other guy and frowned.

"Not that I'm ungrateful, but who are you?" he asked, glancing around and finding that were most definitely _not_ in an outhouse. It had wood-paneled floors and a small desk with a chair. It looked more like some sort of security office, now that he was inside.

"Roxas," the blond answered his question, smiling weakly. "You?"

He examined the man (teen, really, he had to be around Hayner's age) before answering. He was wearing shabby black jeans that covered a pair of boots and a white shirt under a black button up. He also had a weird bracelet with numbers and letters on it. "Seifer," he said shortly, putting his gun in it's holster.

Roxas blinked. "You're not a prisoner, are you?" It was more a statement than a question, but Seifer answered anyway.

"No, are you?" he asked bluntly. Roxas cringed, but nodded.

"I got away this morning, but the dogs outside found me and I've been hiding in here most of the day," he said, sighing heavily. Seifer felt a twinge of sympathy before he remembered his mission.

"I'm here looking for someone," he dug in pockets before pulling out the picture of Hayner, holding it up, "have you seen him?"

Roxas eyed it warily before sighing. "No, but I've heard of him. Hayner, right?"

Seifer nodded. "He was kidnaped a while back in Twilight Town. I'm supposed to bring him back."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Roxas asked, blinking. "With what I heard, he's due for testing tomorrow."

Seifer frowned. "Testing?" Was this some weird cult bent on academic achievement? Somehow, he didn't think so.

"Yeah, I heard he was going to be a prototype of the Alpha series, P-100 or something," Roxas said, like Seifer knew what he was talking about. "Once testing starts, I don't think you'll be able to take him anywhere but another lab."

"Why not?"

Roxas shrugged. "That's how it is for everyone. Once they're taken to a station, they aren't the same again."

Seifer had a brain flash. "Like those dogs?"

Roxas nodded. "They were regular, before they got injected with the secondary strain of P-101. Then they grew and rotted, but somehow managed to stay alive," he paused, "they also crave human flesh."

Great. That was what he needed. Giant mutant dogs chasing him around the forest, intent on eating him. His life definitely sucked at that moment.

"If you're planning on going into the cells to find Hayner, you're going to need a map," Roxas said, ignoring Seifer's glazed expression. He went over to the desk and rifled through the drawers, talking as he did so.

"This is a security office. No one's come in all day, but someone probably will later. You'll have to get out of here soon, the night watch comes when the sun's behind the mountain," he pulled out a folded paper, handing it to Seifer. "There's a trapdoor you can use in the corner to get into the tunnels, but you're on your own from there."

Seifer cocked an eyebrow. "You're not coming?"

Roxas shook his head, smiling grimly. "Worked too hard to get out of here to go back."

"How do you know so much, anyway?" Seifer asked, slapping the map against the palm of his hand. He'd found that once he got past the meekness, he liked Roxas.

"Listened," he replied simply. He then pointed to the corner behind Seifer, where an ornate rug was lying. "Trapdoor's under there. Good luck."

Seifer kicked the rug aside, yanking on the small hoop that was in the floor. Once the door was open, he saw there was no way down, he'd just have to drop.

"What're you gonna do?" he asked as he lowered himself in, glancing at Roxas, who merely shrugged.

"I'll find a way. There's no need to worry about me, I can take care of myself," he gave Seifer a half-smile, waving. "Be careful."

As soon as he said it, Seifer's hand slipped and he went careening into the tunnel, yelling. He hit his arm on the edge of the crawlspace and cursed loudly. It didn't help that the tunnel was slanted. Seifer rolled down a ways before banging into a dirt wall. He simply lie still as he shut his eyes and took deep breaths.

He was so not taking on another rescue mission for a _very_ long time.


	3. Worth It

**12/25/08**

Worth It

* * *

Seifer trudged down the narrow tunnel, his flashlight the only source of light.

He'd been walking for what felt like days, but his watch was telling him it'd only been about fifteen minutes. In all that time, the tunnel didn't change. There were no forks in the path, no torches, no people. It would have freaked him out of he hadn't been so grateful for the time to think.

Those dogs had to have been some sort of guard dogs. There was no other explanation. Obviously the result of testing, if that memo was to be believed. These people holding Hayner had no problem using _humans_, why not use a dog?

Roxas was something he couldn't quite figure out. If he was an escapee, why hadn't he run immediately? Even if he knew about the dogs, the fact that he'd been around long enough to get a general layout of the buildings meant he had to have some information on the dogs too. Something was off about Roxas, but Seifer didn't particularly want to figure out what, no matter how annoying not knowing was.

He stopped walking suddenly, staying still. He clicked off his flashlight, pressing himself against the right wall as voices filtered in from in front of him.

"Damn rocks," he heard a gruff voice shout angrily. "Always in the way down here. Lexaeus, get off your ass and break the damn thing."

Seifer crept forward, walking on the balls of his feet, crouching low. The tunnel turned sharply to the right after a few meters and a blaze of light assaulted his eyes. Squinting, Seifer crouched behind a huge rock, peering over it to see what was going on.

A dozen or so people were milling about in a cavern, clearing away debris. Some were tossing huge rocks into wagons, others were working on a railway. Seifer could see the car for the railroad, a tiny thing sitting abandoned next to a huge man. It clicked easily enough; they were fixing the railroad from what looked like a cave in. The railway disappeared into the darkness of a tunnel to Seifer's right, but was blocked in the front.

A man in a black cloak was standing next a boulder, his arms crossed. Seifer couldn't see his face because the hood was up, but the man seemed annoyed, by the way his foot was tapping against the ground.

"Lexaeus," the gruff voice came from under that hood, "break it or I gamble our lives by using dynamite."

Seifer was surprised when the huge man next to the rail car stood up. He was easily a foot taller than Seifer himself, and built. He was wearing the same cloak as the man next to the boulder.

Seifer watched as the man slowly made his way to the boulder. He watched with apprehension as the man assessed it for a moment, then raised his fist and drew it back. Seifer gaped. The idiot was actually going to try and break it.

The man threw his arm forward and his fist hit the boulder with a loud _crack_. Seifer cringed, thinking he'd broken his hand. But a moment later, cracks were visibly spreading from where he'd hit and in seconds the boulder was crumbling to the ground. It revealed another tunnel, the tracks disappearing inside of it.

Seifer's mouth dropped.

"There, see," the shorter man said, his voice pleased. "Better than blowing the whole damn cave in." He waved his arm. "This place is as fixed as it's going to get, let's get out of here."

The workers dropped their tools, their faces oddly blank. They climbed a short knoll on the opposite side of the cave from Seifer and went through a door he hadn't noticed. The two men waited until they were all out before following.

When he was absolutely sure that he was alone, Seifer sank down against the rock, feeling strangely empty, staring down the way he had come. He recognized it as a defense mechanism; his mind had wiped out any fear or trepidation he might be feeling in order to keep functioning. If he were anyone else, he might've fainted.

Instead of remembering the way the giant man had punched through a _boulder_, Seifer grasped for something else to think about.

The two men were a part of some group, that much was clear. Their cloaks, though a little dramatic, were clearly uniforms of some sort. The workers were probably there as underlings or against their will. Either way, they were the enemy.

Seifer shook his head, attempting to clear it. He'd been freaked out, but he wasn't going to sit in a cave while Hayner was tested on to become like those dogs or something. No, he had a mission to complete and, damn it, even if he had to face off against people durable and strong enough to go busting up boulders, than he would do it. He was getting paid a lot of money to save the brat and unless he was _sure_ he couldn't make it back, he would keep going.

Feeling a little less numb, Seifer stood up and jumped over the rock, pulling his gun out of it's holster. He examined the cave for a moment before going to the train car, quickly yanking the door open and aiming his gun inside.

There were two seats opposite each other, faded velvet and torn in places. The walls were a muted green with no decoration. It looked like an old fashioned carriage cart with no windows.

_And no people_. Seifer stepped into the car, looking around for a way to start it. He didn't know where the hell it would go, but he wasn't going to take the door the others had. For all he knew, it led to an execution ground for the underlings.

_This could lead to the same place_. Seifer ignored the thought when he spotted a few switches on an armrest.

There were several, but one was next to a handle that was conveniently labeled "Slow" and "Fast" on the top and bottom. The switch to turn the car on would have to be the one next to it, the only one not going up and down, but left to right.

Seifer hesitated, but before he could double guess himself, he flipped the switch and grabbed the handle, turning it until it was closer to "Fast".

The car started slowly, it's wheels creaking at it moved. When it cleared the cave and went into the tunnel it picked up speed, disorienting Seifer. He could feel the car moving, but he couldn't see anything. He doubted that even if he turned on the flashlight it would do anything.

A few moments into the ride a loud _thump_ echoed around the car. Seifer frowned and looked up, seeing a little sky window he hadn't noticed on the first inspection. And a blank faced man hacking into the ceiling from the outside with a hatchet.

He aimed his gun up and fired when the man was ripping open the cloth covering. The man grunted and then screamed as he fell off. Seifer sidestepped the dropped hatchet and listened with increasing dread as the scream continued on, fading into the distance _below_ him.

_A bridge_, he thought blankly, _we're over a bridge_.

Another thump alerted him to the presence of another person jumping onboard. He whipped his gun up and was only a little surprised to see another man kneeling over the opening. This one didn't have a weapon, but he finished ripping open the ceiling and threw cloth to the side before Seifer could shoot.

When that one was also falling to his death, another took his place. And another. And another, until three were jumping into the cramped car, attacking Seifer with by hitting and biting. None of the attacks made any headway, their hits were weak and their bites didn't pierce his skin. Outside, he could hear others trying and failing to jump onboard.

_Shit, why the hell are they so determined?_ Seifer growled and awkwardly aimed his gun, shooting one of the men in the hip. He groaned and fell, tripping up the one next to him. Seifer took the opportunity to throw off the last one and kick open the door, grabbing the one he'd shot and bodily throwing him out.

Distracted by finding that were no longer on the bridge, the other two leaped forward and shoved Seifer. He cried out and tried to grab the doorframe, but missed.

He clenched his eyes shut as felt himself fall out of the car... and land in a heap.

Blinking, he heard the train car continue on it's way. He pulled his flashlight from the utility belt around his waist and turned it on, watching as the car sped away from him, still disoriented.

When he couldn't hear it anymore he got to his feet with a sigh. He spent a moment brushing the dirt from his clothes, shaking his beanie out. When he was done, he pulled it back over his head and picked up his gun from where it had fallen. After making sure it was okay, he started off again, following the tracks.

_Beast dogs, superhuman men, suicidal underlings_, he thought irritably, his face in a scowl, _This Hayner kid better be worth all this._

He wasn't going to brave the forest without bigger equipment, that was for sure. A bazooka would be great (no matter what that girl said), but he'd settle for a shotgun, at least. Or a flamethrower.

His mouth quirked up with amusement. Once he got Hayner, he was going to look for more weapons and ammo. Even if the kid was a hysterical mess, he'd just tie him up and gag him, then drag him along. No way in hell was he going to attempt to get out with a handgun and a survival knife.

_Priority one: Get myself out alive. Priority two: Get Hayner out alive. Priority three: find shitload of weaponry_.

Satisfied with his adjusted priorities, Seifer picked up the pace and hoped he wouldn't see anything else out of the ordinary.

* * *

_Christmas update! Happy Holidays to whoever celebrates._

_- Slaughter_


End file.
